Creator Bio
Abū ’l-Faraj Hārūn
First Half of the 11th Century
Abū ’l-Faraj Hārūn, the leading student of Yūsuf ibn Nūḥ, succeeded his teacher as the head of the Karaite academy in Jerusalem. Abū ’l-Faraj composed numerous grammatical writings, not all of which survive, and was responsible for the abridgment of his teacher’s biblical commentary. Abū ’l-Faraj served as a conduit for many traditions of the Masoretes, and his scriptural insights, particularly his linguistic comments, were popular among eleventh- and twelfth-century Rabbanites living in al-Andalus (Muslim Spain). Byzantine Karaites, who translated his works into Hebrew, transmitted Abū ’l-Faraj’s writings to Europe.
Content by Abū ’l-Faraj Hārūn
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An Early Manuscript Copy of The Sufficient Book
The Sufficient Book is a digest of the Karaite Abū 'l-Faraj Hārūn's Judeo-Arabic grammatical work The Comprehensive Book, composed in the first half of the eleventh century, in Jerusalem. In this page…
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Glossary of Difficult Biblical Words
Introduction (selections)
We have completed [the work] requested by the eminent elder Abū l-Ṭayyib Samuel b. Manṣūr, may God preserve him, for his two sons, may God give them life, that is, the explanation [tafsīr] of…
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The Abridgment
Commentary on Genesis 41:8
Query. If it is said, “Did not the Exalted cease to provide the magicians and sages of Egypt with the knowledge of interpreting dreams, with which they were familiar, and prevent them from arriving at…